Recipe {Apple + Sausage Strata}

Happy Thanksgiving week! What are your plans for the holiday? I will by flying down to the Bay Area to spend the holiday with my sisters and brother-in-law. We have a Turkey Trot, and then having Thanksgiving with about 12 people. I'll be making Parker House Rolls and helping out where needed. To be honest, when planning the trip Thanksgiving was an afterthought. What I'm really flying down for is to watching Gilmore Girls on Friday! We've dubbed it #ThanksGilmore! I suspect there will be a lot of Pizza and Chinese food with a side of Rolos.

If you aren't planning on eating all the processed food, I'd highly recommend making this Apple + Sausage Strata for a holiday brunch. The hearty dish can be made before, has a nice mixture of salty and sweet, and has the cheddar gets real crispy. I used Autumn Glory apples, a variety out of Yakima, and they bring a very bold sweetness to the dish, while also maintaining their crunch. I was very happy with the texture of the apples and them not turning to mush.

 Need another apple recipe? Head over to The Spicy Bee where I shared a recipe for cheddar-buttermilk biscuits. 

Apple + Sausage Strata

Serves 6-8

1 loaf day old crusty bread, cubed

1 lb ground sage breakfast sausage

2 Autumn Glory apples, cubed

8 ounces sharp cheddar, small cubes

6 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

Salt + Pepper

Preheat an oven to 375. Cook sausage until brown and crumbly. 

In a large bowl combined bread, apple, cheddar and sausage. Let sausage cool and bread soak up sausage drippings.

In a medium bowl whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Salt and pepper to liking. Pour over bread mixture, stirring every five minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes.  

Place mixture in a large casserole dish. Bake for one hour. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.